Endure
by Kamrin Sangui
Summary: After a few moments he looked over to where his friend was sitting on his bed, staring at him questioningly. He looked pale, almost sickly, and his eyes were a bit sunken in. He had his laptop sitting on the bed in front of him, the light from which cast a slight blue glow on his cheek. Humanstuck. Tw: there will be violence/ talk of harmful parentals. Don't own hs or characters.
1. Chapter 1

"Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Sollux asked as he barged into Karkat's room, starting to to throw the multitude of empty energy drink cans on Karkat's desk into a trash bag he was holding. After a few moments he looked over to where his friend was sitting on his bed, staring at him questioningly. He looked pale, almost sickly, and his eyes were a bit sunken in. He had his laptop sitting on the bed in front of him, the light from which cast a slight blue glow on his cheek.

"Are you going to answer me, or are you just going to watch me while I get some of this shit out of your room?" He spat at him with a slight lisp as he went back to filling the bag with cans, clearly becoming frustrated.

"What do you want me to say? I don't even know what you're talking about." He stated quietly, slowly turning back to his computer.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You keep trapping yourself in your room and not talking to anyone. It's been almost a month since any of us heard from you!" He snapped, throwing the bag down and crossing his arms, glaring at him.

"Well, it's not like any of you want to talk to me. You all just think I'm some clueless child!" He retorted, looking up at him with a frown. Soon after he said that, he slid out of bed and gently grabbed the other by the shoulder, escorting him out of the room. Once his friend was in the hallway, he shut and locked the door before heading back to his bed.

Sollux stood outside his door, staring at it for a moment before trying to open it. Once he figured out it was locked, he knocked on the door, but didn't receive an answer. He silently leaned forward and rested his forehead on the door, staying that way until he heard quiet crying coming from inside the smaller boy's room. It was then that he remembered that his doorknob has been broken for a few years, and after a hard turn to the left, it opened.

He squinted around the room as the light from the hallway flooded the previously pitched-dark area. He took a few steps forward, trying to find his friend in the room, accidentally kicking him in the process. He blinked down at him, curious as to when and how he got on the floor. He knelt beside him and gingerly rubbed his shoulder. Karkat was shaking under his hand, but it wasn't because he was crying; only a few stray tears remained on his face. He was slightly paler than before, and now that he was up close and able to touch him, he noticed he was thinner than what was probably healthy.

In that moment, Sollux became frozen with fear. He started at him, his heart pounding in his ears. There was a lump in his throat he couldn't swallow down. The boy he was holding onto coughed, making him jump. It sounded so painful, and he sounded so weak. He pulled the shaking boy into his arms and turned him over so that he could see his face. Karkat's hair looked scruffier and the bags under his eyes were darker than usual, and he just looked so _sick._

The taller boy stood up, keeping the other in his arms as he did. _This is wrong_, he thought. _He's too light_. With that thought came a wave of panic, and before he knew it he was buckling Karkat into the passenger's seat of his car. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins; he could feel hot tears pricking at the corners of his eyes by the time he slid behind the wheel. He and Karkat may give each other a lot of shit and argue, but the little asshole was one of his best friends.

"Kk, you better not fucking die.." He commanded, a hint of nervousness and sorrow in his voice as he glanced over to the unconscious being next to him before pulling out of the driveway and heading for the hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

Sollux sat in the hospital waiting room, bouncing his knee up and down nervously. He glanced around the room, at the sickeningly white walls, the shiny, marble-like floors, the uniform cushion chairs that seem to be the same ones that are in every waiting room, then he looked toward the hallway they took Karkat down. The all-too-familiar scent of sickness and sterilizer flooded his nostrils, making the panic swell in his chest, bringing the taste of bile to the back of his throat. He was never supposed to come back here, he promised himself he wouldn't. Everything about this place reminded him of the nights upon nights he spent here, waiting on some word on Aradia after her accident. He waited so long, and even the second she came in it was too late.

He ran his fingers through his hair, gripping the locks tightly. He needed to stop thinking about her, he needed to calm down. He needed to stay calm for Karkat, so he could be here when he woke up and got better, that way he could smack him and chew him out for being so irresponsible.

"God damn it kk, what were you thinking?" He said to himself under his breath as he stared down at his lap. After he finally came to the conclusion he wasn't going to get any word about Karkat for a while, he decided to spread around the word about what happened. He took out his phone and scrolled down his contacts until he came across Kanaya's number. Kanaya was reliable, and he figured if he told her she could let everyone else know.

"hey, kn, can you 2pread 2ome new2 for me?" He messaged her. He had a habit of doubling his I's, changing 'to' and 'too' to 'two', and replacing the S's with 2s when he typed. It was just a quirk he had, and everyone in his group of friends had their own typing quirk.

"Is This News Important, Or Is It Some Sort Of Gossip?"

"kn, do you thiink iid really me22age you two 2pread go22iip?"

"Hm, Good Point. Continue."

"kk2 iin the ho2piital. ii thought you could let everyone know for me."

"Really? Is There Anything You'd Like Me To Tell Those Who May Be Overly Concerned?"

"ju2t tell them that he2 okay to my knowledge, and iill keep everyone po2ted."

"Will Do. Are You Okay?"

"yeah, iim fiine."

"Are You There With Him?"

"iim iin the waiitiing room."

"Would You Like Some Company?"

"no, iit2 okay. iim about two go two 2leep for a whiile anyway2." With that he put his phone back in his pocket, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes.

* * *

A/N: Sorry my chapters are so short.


	3. Chapter 3

He didn't sleep well. He woke up often, usually in a cold sweat. The familiarity of his location was toxic, the smell of antiseptic and the pure white walls were poison to his subconscious. It brought back memories and fears, and along with it came new ones. Finally, he gave up on sleep. Instead opting to squirm nervously in his chair. This is torture. This is the worst kind of torture. He stood up to go outside and get some fresh air right when a nurse came over to him. She was slightly shorter than him, with long, dark-brown hair, large, round glasses, and a name tag that said J. Harley.

"Excuse me, are you here waiting to here about-" she paused to look at her clipboard. "... Karkat Vantas?"

"Yeah, I've been waiting since last night."

""Well, I bet you'll be really relieved to hear this! He was properly stabilized last night and just woke up a little bit ago!" She exclaimed, a smile tugging at her lips. It made him sigh a breath of relief.

"So, can you tell me what was wrong with him? He questioned, causing her to look over her clipboard again.

"He came in starved and partially dehydrated. We have him on an IV now, so he should be starting on his road to recovery."

"Can I.. Can I go see him?" He asked, his lisp making itself more prominent than usual. He swallowed hard to rid himself of the lump forming in his throat.

The nurse nodded and led him back to Karkat's room. She stopped him in front of the closed door to his friend's room. She smiled up at him.

"I know you're ready to go see your friend, but this is just basic procedure. I'm the nurse for this area of the hospital, so you can expect to see a lot of me if you're going to be in here with your friend all the time. I'm nurse Harley, but feel free to call me Jade."

"Thanks. I'm Sollux."

She nodded and opened the door for him, patting him on the shoulder as he passed by. He shut the door behind himself before pulling up a chair next to the smaller boy's hospital bed. Sollux sat there for a minute, studying the other. He had fallen asleep again, and he was still reasonably pale. True to the nurse's word, he was hooked up to an IV, along with a couple other machines he couldn't properly identify at this point.

He sat in silence, save the sounds of the heart monitor. Then, slowly, he leaned forward and gently stroked Karkat's cheek, trying to wake him. He drew his hand back when he squirmed a little and his eyes began to flutter open. He watched as his friend re-awoke and sat up a bit. Karkat was wearing one of those paper gowns that each patient gets, and it looked small enough to fit a child. That thought made Sollux cringe a little, but he shook it off and scooted closer.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Sollux asked, glad that he was wearing his 3D glasses like he always did, that way Karkat couldn't see him blink back his tears.

"I feel better, I guess. I don't know what happened." Karkat said. His voice was quiet and sounded like his throat was in desperate need to be cleared.

"You collapsed in your room because you hadn't been eating and were only drinking energy drinks for who know how fucking long!" Sollux remarked, his voice getting a defensive tone to it. He glared at Karkat through his glasses, a small scowl settled on his face. Karkat didn't even try to make eye-contact. The smaller boy hung his head and brought his knees to his chest, shrinking in on himself.

They sat like that for a while, total silence besides the steady beeping of the machines and the occasional sound of soft breathing coming from the both of them. Karkat was almost still as a stone in his curled up state, except that every-so-often he'd shake a little. Sollux stared at him until he couldn't take anymore. He stood up and went over to Karkat, taking off his glasses before gently cupping his friend's face and lifting it so h could look at him.

"Karkat. Will you please tell me why this happened? Seriously, I just want to know what happened to make you do this."


	4. Chapter 4

"Why? Why does it matter? I doubt you even care..." Karkat said sadly, looking anywhere but at Sollux. This all made a rage boil inside his chest, while also breaking his heart.

"You think that I _don't _care? That's a fucking laugh. I came to find you, Karkat! You were pretty much missing for weeks. No one knew where you were, no one had heard from you, and I'm the only one that has an extra key to your house besides Gamzee! The only reason I didn't come sooner is because I thought he was going to. And as to why it matters, something is obviously wrong. I've seen you in the hospital a few times, and none of those reasons were really your fault. No one even held you accountable for the time you broke your arm, that wasn't entirely because of you. And now we're here, you're in the hospital and I sat in the waiting room all night driving myself insane! I was worried about you, Karkat, and I still am! I'm sure everyone else is, too."

"You told everyone?"

"Not directly, but they have a right to know. We're your friends, and we miss you." Sollux took a few deep breaths, keeping his eyes set on Karkat. He watched as the other blinked back the tears that were starting to pool on his bottom lid. When Karkat didn't respond, he continued.

"Do you know how terrifying that is, KK? To not know where one of your best friends is, to not hear from him or know that anyone has for that long? To come look for one of the people you've known for years at his house, only to have him collapse within fifteen minutes of you finding him locked in his room? That is one of the most frightening things imaginable from my standpoint, and all I want to know is why it happened. I care about you, Karkat. I care, and I'm not the only one." He let his hands drop from Karkat's face as he spoke. There was a short silence that followed.

"I'm scared..." Karkat said. Sollux was taken aback by the fact that he had gotten a reply at all.

"What? Why? Why are you scared?"

"The police called me a while ago and told me that my father got released from jail."

"Shit. Is that why you're freaking out?"

"Well, that's not just it. There are other things..."

"What are these 'other things'? I want to at least be able to try to help."

"Everyone wants to help, don't they? But when I go to someone for help, they're too busy. Or I'm overreacting. Or whatever reason they can come up with that makes it so that they don't have to help me. My favorite has been when I got told off for 'overreacting' and being 'overly dramatic', and got told that I'm this stupid, naive child that doesn't know how to handle anything or act my age. So you know what I did after that? Do you, Sollux? I gave up. I shut out everyone who ever said they cared, because they obviously don't. I haven't left my house since I got that call, which was over a month ago, because I'm terrified. And before you say that I'm blowing this all out of proportion, that there's no way he could find me, let me tell you this. He called me. He _came to my house._ I went to leave for work one day and I saw him sitting in front of my car. He saw me, too. He tried to force his way in. I bet you noticed that crack in my front door. The reason that I haven't been able to eat and that I've only been drinking those energy drinks is that that's all I have at my house, and I'm too scared to leave my house or have anyone come over. Fuck, I'm such a coward."

After Karkat finished, he curled back into his previous ball-like state. Sollux immediately went over and wrapped his arms around him, feeling his friend's body wrack with silent sobbing. He ran his fingers gently through the smaller boy's hair.

"Karkat, you aren't a coward. You're one of the most brave people I know. I'm not going to sit here and say all the things I wish I would have done now that I know, that's stupid and pointless and won't help anything, especially at this point. But now that I do know, I'm not going to let you try to handle this alone. That's a promise."

"I don't want to be here, Sollux. I don't want to go home either..."

"I know, I know. You hate hospitals as much as I do. How about this? I go check you out of here, and you come live with me for a while. Sound good?" Sollux asked, pulling back and watching as his friend nodded.

"We'll have to stop at my house first, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll be right back, then we can leave."

A little less than half an hour later Sollux had Karkat signed out and was pulling his car to the front of the building so that Karkat could get in. He called Gamzee on his way to the car and told him to meet them at Karkat's house in about twenty minutes, to which he agreed. He smiled as he opened the door for the other and helped him inside before returning to his seat and beginning the drive back to Karkat's house.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews and everything. That's really nice of you guys. And just to make this clear, so you all know and can properly prepare yourselves, there will more than likely be violence in the next chapter, and possibly other potentially triggering scenarios. If you can't handle these things, I apologize.

Next chapter will probably be up tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

Karkat was just getting out of the car as Gamzee pulled up, and was to the door by the time he had gotten out of his own car and was talking to Sollux. The two of them waited back at Sollux's car while Karkat went in to get some stuff together. Trying to respect his privacy or something.

What comes next wishes that he would have asked one of them, or even both, to come inside with him.

It didn't happen immediately. His friends probably would have noticed if it had. No, it happened after he shut the front door and was in his room on the other side of the house. He opened the door to his room and flipped the switch for the lights, opening the garbage bag he grabbed from the kitchen to put his stuff in. When he looked up, he saw an all-too-familiar individual sitting on his bed, turning something around in his hands. He wanted to scream, to turn and run, but he couldn't. He was frozen in his spot. Petrified.

The person on his bed looked up, that misleading smile etched on his face. The man stood up and went over to Karkat.

"Hello, son. It's been a while." He said, meeting eyes with the boy frozen in the doorway. When he didn't get a response, he kept on.

"You haven't gotten much taller since I last saw you. How have you been?" At this point, Karkat was fighting hard against his body to keep from passing out or throwing up, or both. When the man still didn't get a reply, his voice grew cold and angry.

"Boy, I am your father, and as such I demand respect. You respond to me when I talk to you."

"You may be my father, but you sure as Hell aren't my dad. Get out of my house." He stated flatly. He felt sick. He didn't know where the words managed to come from, but he regretted them as soon as they came out. His father had him on the wall and off his feet within seconds, holding him by his neck.

"You can't tell me what to do, I _own _you. This is my house now, and you aren't allowed to leave it again. If you do, that will be your last time seeing the light of day." He growled at him, his grip getting a little tighter on Karkat's neck before he continued. "Now, make up for what you just gave me the displeasure of hearing before I have to make you pay."

"Fuck you. You can't boss me around anymore, I'm not a kid. Fuck. You. Get out." Karkat snarled, barring his teeth a little. Moments later he found himself on the floor, a boot making repeated contact with his ribcage.

He let out a small whimper as the barrage of kicks continued, transforming into a storm of fists making their way to various parts of his body. He wished he had the strength to fight back, to defend himself. All he could do at this point was curl up and try to protect himself.

"Are you ready to apologize yet?" His father asked as he grabbed him by the hair and yanked him upwards, the shit-eating smile returning to his face when he saw the blood on his son's.

"Ha. Apologize to you? That is literally the one thing that will never happen again. You might as well just leave." He said behind the beginnings of a triumphant smirk. The expression fell away when his dad twirled something shiny in front of his face, and it was then that he realized what he had when he came in.

"I don't know, Karkat. You may want to rethink that. Might help you a little." He warned as he pulled up Karkat's shirt and pressed the cold metal to his son's skin. He then chuckled. "No one can hear you back here, you could die and no one would know."

"You wouldn't do that. I know you wouldn't."

"I wouldn't be so sure. People change, son." He said before applying pressure and dragged the knife over his sternum, eliciting a loud scream from the boy. A shriek of pain and terror so loud that it was easily heard from outside.

Blood began to run from the freshly made wound as the front door opened rather audibly and rushed footsteps made themselves heard. His father- no, his attacker- started to laugh maniacally when the boy's friends started calling for him. That led the pair right to them, the pair that stopped outside his room and gasped as they watched the older man press the now-bloodied knife to Karkat's neck. He let out a feeble call for help to his friends, and was promptly smacked upside the head for it.

They were stuck in a stand off, a weak, bloody Karkat stuck in the middle of it. Sollux and Gamzee got more and more tense with each passing moment. Sollux swore he could feel Gamzee behind him growing frantic and angry.

"You two just let me finish my business with my boy. We're going to be a family again, let us be." The man said, pointing the knife at the pair in the doorway before giving Karkat a slice on the arm for crying for help again.

"We aren't going to leave. Let him go. Gamzee, go call the cops." Sollux instructed, taking a small step towards Karkat, stopping when the knife was pressed to his friend's throat again.

"None of you move. Move and I'll do it."

"You obviously don't care about him. Let him go and no one has to know this happened."

"But I do care about him. He's all I got left of his mother, so if I can't keep him, no one gets him."

"He hates you, just let us have him."

"No, he's mine. He's my son."

Sollux was going to try to negotiate more, if Gamzee hadn't picked this precise moment to bum-rush the recently released inmate and begin to beat him like he just had his son. Or maybe worse, he wouldn't know, his eyes were too focused on the unmoving body on the floor. His unmoving friend. He cautiously made his way toward him, his steps hesitant like the floor would collapse at any moment.

When he was just a few feet away his steps got faster. He dropped to his knees beside Karkat. He was bleeding, but not from the neck like he feared. As a result of the knife's wielder being tackled, the path of the knife was altered. It instead started at the start of his neck and went upwards to mid-cheek. While this calmed him a little, it didn't change the fact that he was still hurt and needed attention. The bruises on his friend's body were a deep, sickening purple.

Sollux managed to tear Gamzee away from his assault on the recent attacker before kneeling next to his barely conscious friend again and calling for an ambulance. He was certainly still terrified, even more so when Karkat started shutting his eyes. He kept a hand on the smaller boy's chest as they waited for the ambulance, just so he could make sure he was still alive.


	6. Chapter 6

The paramedics wouldn't let either of them ride in the ambulance with him, which was kind of okay since they'd have to explain to the police what had happened. There was a second ambulance called for Karkat's father, and there was an audience gathered outside when the first one arrived.

Sollux and Gamzee were sitting on the hood of Sollux's car when the police got there, along with the other ambulance. By now it seemed like the whole neighborhood was out, but none of them knew what was going on. After their talk with the cops, Sollux started sending more texts to Kanaya.

"hey, wat two 2pread 2ome more new2 for me?"

"I Suppose. What Is It This Time?"

"tell everyone that kk had two go back two the ho2piital, and iit2 wor2e thii2 tiime."

"Oh No. Why Is He There This Time?"

"two put iit 2iimply, kk2 dad got out of jaiil."

"Is He All Right?"

"ii dont know, kn."

He didn't receive a text from her after that. He did, however, get many from plenty of other people, most of them being along the lines of:

"WH4T H4PP3N3D TO K4RKL3S?"

":33 is karkitty okay?"

And it seems that the situation was horrible enough to warrant a text from a certain Dave Strider. He never responded to any of the texts, and when started getting calls he ignored those, too.

Within ten minutes of the calls starting, the first car got to Karkat's house. It came to a screeching halt in the driveway and Terezi came rushing out of the passenger side, followed by Vriska, who had been the driver.

"What happened to Karkles? Is he okay?"

"I'll explain when everyone gets here, okay?"

Sure enough, everyone in their reasonably sized group of friends had arrived at Karkat's within half an hour, all of them now crowded around Sollux. They had all asked their own variant of "What happened?" upon arrival, but none of them got an immediate answer. When Sollux was certain everyone was there, he relayed the incident. After he finished, a brief silence followed. They all went inside and sat there for a long while. About six hours had passed before Sollux's phone rang again.

Sollux jumped to his feet from his spot on the couch the instant his phone started ringing. After he excused himself from the group conversation that was currently taking place in Karkat's living room, he took the call in the kitchen. He wet his lips before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Nurse Harley at the hospital downtown, and we have this number down as an emergency contact for Karkat Vantas. Do you know of this person?"

"Yes, Jade. I know who Karkat is."

"Wait, is this Sollux?"

"Yes, Jade."

"Oh, well, you should probably just come down here. It'd probably be easier."

"Why would it be easier?"

"For one, Karkat's condition would probably be better explained with visuals. And two, there are a couple people down here that want to talk to you and whoever else was there with you and Karkat and Karkat's father."

"Why do they want to talk to me and Gamzee?"

"Well... Karkat's father wants to try to file assault charges on Gamzee."

"I bet you already know what I want to say to that."

"Yeah, but it'd probably still be better if you two came down here."

She hung up after that, and after a few deep breaths Sollux made his way back to the living room. Rose questioned him as soon as he got in the doorway.

"Who was that?"

"That was a nurse at the hospital. She wants to have me come in so we can talk about Karkat's condition. She also said that Karkat's dad wants to press charges against Gamzee for kicking his ass. So, the question now is, who wants to go on a field trip?"

There wasn't a single person still sitting when he finished his question.

* * *

Sollux went up to the nurses station as the rest of the rather large group entered the waiting room. Once he made sure everyone stayed there and he found Jade, she led him back to Karkat's room. He was expecting it to be bad, and he spent the whole trip back there preparing himself for the worst. No amount of preparation he could get in could have kept his jaw from dropping when he laid eyes on his friend. The bright, florescent lights of the hospital made his injuries look that much worse. Though his open wounds were covered, many of the sickeningly colored bruises were still clearly visible, and he had grown quite pale on top of that.

"He's quite a sight, isn't he?" Jade asked, putting x-rays up on the light-up board before switching it on. "He's got a few broken ribs, a slight fracture in his collar bone, and several severe bruises throughout his body. The large cut across his chest had to get stitches, as well as the one on his face and neck. The one on his arm wasn't as bad, and can be handled with just some bandaging. With the state his body was in, this could have been much, much worse."

"What happens now?"

"We keep him here for a while. Two weeks at most. Then, he should be able to leave, but he will need to come back for a few check ups."

"What about his dad?"

"He's got a broken arm and a few cuts and bruises. As you know, he wants to press charges. The police have already talked to him, and he says that all that happened was completely due to Gamzee, who he dubbed as a lunatic."

"That's bullshit!"

"I know. The police want to talk to him, and then to Karkat when he waked up. With any luck, he'll be back in jail."

"Can I go back and tell everyone now?"

"Only if I get to go with. I saw John and a few other people I recognized, and I want to go say hi." She said as she smiled at him. He nodded and went back to the waiting room, where the police had already pulled Gamzee aside and were talking to him.

Jade sat down next to John as Sollux made the announcement about Karkat. Not even a minute later Gamzee came back over to the group, his shoulders shaking. He sat down a few seats away from everyone and would shrink away if anyone tried to come near him. This was a bad sign, and everyone could tell.


	7. Chapter 7

It was the next morning that Karkat came to again.

The police were the first ones to go see him. Afterwords, everyone urged Gamzee to go visit him. He refused and stayed put, so they gave up and sent Sollux back there. He let himself into his friend's room and pulled up a chair next to the bed.

"Hey, kk. How are you feeling?"

"Like death. I feel like death."

"Well, with how things are going, I don't doubt that."

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"A couple weeks."

"There's no way I'm going to stay here that long."

"Karkat, you have to."

"Is he here, too?"

"Yes."

"That's it, I'm leaving."

He began to get out of bed, Sollux watched nervously as Karkat got to his feet. Karkat made a loud, pained sound in his throat almost as soon as he stood up, causing Sollux to rush to his side. He got there in time to steady the other when his knees started to buckle underneath him.

"Karkat! You need to rest!" Sollux lectured. He gazed down at the smaller boy, frowning when he saw that his head was bowed and his arms were wrapped over his chest. He was starting to shake.

"It hurts, Sollux."

"I know."

"It hurts so much."

Sollux knelt down in front of Karkat. That's when he saw the tears streaming down Karkat's cheeks. He gently grabbed the boy's wrists and peered up at him.

"Can I see?"

Karat nodded and allowed his arms to be pulled away. Sollux carefully pushed the hospital gown upwards, but still got a small whimper from the boy. He had to blink back tears when he saw the wounds. Large, dark bruises most of the area that was previously covered by the gown, and the cut on his chest had started oozing blood again in spots. It made him angry. An almost homicidal rage bubbled up in his chest. It blinded him, so much so that he didn't notice when Karkat began crying for him to stop. He finally snapped out of it when he felt Karkat's nails digging into his shoulders.

He looked up at his friend, who was currently shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. Karkat's face was almost paper-white. At this point, the crying had turned into violent sobbing.

"Sollux, stop. Please!"

Sollux looked down at his hands. He had Karkat in a vice-like grip right where his ribcage came to an end. Right where there were a couple of especially painful looking bruises. Sollux immediately dropped his hands, disgusted with himself.

"Holy shit. Karkat, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"I know, I know. I remember..."

"Are you okay?"

"If I said yes I'd be lying and you know that."

"You should lay back down."

"No, fuck that noise."

"God damn it, Karkat! You need to rest so you can get better."

"I can rest and get better somewhere that's preferably far away from this God forsaken place and the asshole lurking somewhere in it."

"Karkat, I don't want to hurt you again, but it might end up happening if I have to force you to lay down."

"It's not like it fucking matters! Even breathing hurts thanks to that bulgelicking douchenozzle. I don't want to be anywhere near him. He ruined my life!"

"Karkat, you know what's going to happen, right?"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" He blared, lifting his head and staring at Sollux.

"You may not want to, but you need to! He wants to press charges on Gamzee, and he'll probably try to make sure you're in his custody again. You're not quite eighteen yet, Karkat! We were lucky enough to get you away from him the first time, and Roxy was nice enough to sign the lease on your house so you could live there. We helped you graduate early. We did everything we could to get you started on a life without having to go into witness protection or into some fucking adoption agency. Like hell we're going to let him take you again."

"They're not going to listen to us! We aren't going to win this!"

"Karkat-"

"WE'RE JUST A BUNCH OF FUCKING KIDS, SOLLUX!"

"I know, but-"

"WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST GIVE UP NOW!"

"Karkat! Shut the fuck up for a second!"

"Whatever you're going to say won't make a difference," he sighed, crossing his arms, "but go ahead."

"We're going to pool our money and get the best lawyer we can. We aren't going down without a fight, kk. I told you before, you aren't alone."

Karkat couldn't help the small smile that spread across his lips. Sollux smiled back, reaching out and ruffling the smaller boy's hair.

"Do you feel a little better now?" He asked. Karkat nodded. "Good. Now rest up."


	8. Chapter 8

A little over a month later, after Karkat had been released from the hospital and had been living with Sollux for a little while, there was a decided date for the court case.

That day was today.

Sollux stood in the kitchen, drinking some coffee as he waited for Karkat. The trial didn't start for about half an hour, but he wanted to make sure Karkat ate before they left.

"Come on, kk! What's taking so long?" He called back to the other. When he didn't get a reply, he went to check on him.

Karkat was standing in the bathroom with the door open. He hadn't put his shirt on yet and was staring into the mirror. When Sollux got closer he realized that Karkat was tracing his scars, old and new. Sollux stopped just outside the doorway and watched him with a frown.

"I hate him. I hate him so much." Karkat said, glancing at Sollux out of the corner of his eye.

"That's completely understandable."

"But, no matter how much I hate him, I'll always hate myself a little bit more."

"Why do you hate yourself? There's really no reason for that."

"I'll explain later. For right now, let's just go. I want to get this over with as soon as I can. The thought of being around him makes me sick." Karkat said, finally pulling on his white, button-up shirt.

"You need to eat before we go."

"I'll be fine skipping one meal. We're going to be late."

"Karkat, we aren't leaving until you have at least one pancake."

"How about I just eat some toast on the way?"

"Make it two and you have a deal."

* * *

They got to the courthouse five minutes before the trial was supposed to start. Gamzee was already in his place at the defendant's table along with his lawyer. Karkat mentioned after one glance that he looked tense and uncomfortable, like he hadn't been high in about a week.

Not everyone showed up for the case. Many of them had to work or had other prior engagements. Terezi showed up, which didn't surprise anyone since she got into some esteemed school to study law and criminal justice. Rose and Kanaya were also there, which, again, wasn't a surprise. Dave came, claiming that he was just there to break up any fights. Nepeta came, and obviously she brought Equius with her.

Just moments after they sat down and exchanged hellos with everyone, Karkat's father entered with his lawyer. The group got quiet as the man walked by, and Sollux could feel Karkat tense up next to him. The man gave another of his trademark, shit-eating smiles, and Sollux could feel a familiar rage rising inside him.

Soon the session had started. Both the lawyers were pleading the cases of those they were speaking for. The whole time they were talking Sollux didn't pay much attention. He didn't want to sit there and listen to why his friend should go to jail and not the jerk who almost killed his kid. He should just go to jail and that should be the end of that. Sollux balled his hands into tight fists over his knees.

He was drawn from his thoughts when Karkat shuffled in front of him and went to the witness' stand. Karkat must of gotten called up when he wasn't paying attention. He bit his lip and watched as Karkat took his seat behind the railing and began to get the third degree. The lawyer didn't go easy on him, neither of them did. It wasn't long before Karkat had a look of utter frustration in his features. All of his body language was telling them to stop and leave him alone, and he was shooting his father looks each time he spoke that were so heatedly furious that it had the potential to melt metal. Despite all this, the questions continued.

"I think you've been asking him questions long enough. It's about time you gave him a break." gamzee interupted.

"Mr. Makara, you are in no place to tell the court how it should and should not treat those involved in the case." the judge responded.

"Man, I am telling you, he is so angry and uncomfortable up there you'd think that that level of those feelings is impossible."

"And how would you know how he feels?"

"I've known him for so long that I can tell how he reacts to something, and he knows the same for me. Let him down."

"He's my son, I know him better." Karkat's father butted in. "Keep going."

"If you know him so well, then tell us what he's allergic to! Or his favorite color! I bet you don't even know how old he is!" Gamzee shouted, jumping out of his seat.

"Mr. Makara! If you don't calm down I will close this trial and take you into custody."

"You're going to be taking the wrong person in, then! This asshole has a history of child and alcohol abuse, was recently released from prison and nearly killed his son within two months of getting out, and you're going to believe that he's completely innocent? If that's the kind of backwards world we live in, then take me the fuck to jail!"

"Gamzee -"

"No, Karkat! Obviously I'm not going to win this in anyway! I might as well!"

The judge then beat his mallet on the table in front of him. He motioned for the bailiff to come put Gamzee in hand cuffs and take him away. Gamzee went without a struggle. Everyone watched with muted shock. Once the two were gone, the judge hit his mallet on the table again.

"I believe we're done here, unless there is some other form of business to be discussed."

"There is, your honor." Karkat's father said as he stood up. "I haven't seen my son in quite some time, and he's the only family that I have left. Can I have custody of him? He won't be a child for much longer."

"I don't see any harm in that. Your request is granted."

"What? Are you blind?!" Sollux shouted as he stood up, his face flushing in anger.

"Sir, if you don't sit down and keep quiet I will have you removed."

Sollux gave a defeated look and sat back down. He watched Karkat give a similar defeated look and hang his head.

"Well, they do say that justice is blind." Terezi told him quietly, patting him on the back.

"I'm not going to let this happen, tz. I'm not." Sollux said as the judge smacked his mallet once more and released the court.

* * *

Karkat sat at Sollux's kitchen table, dreading every moment, since every moment was a moment closer to having to be dragged off to live with his dad. His stuff sat in a dufflebag on the counter. Sollux watched him with an apologetic frown from the other end of the table.

"I'm so sorry, Karkat."

"I know, you can't really help it."

"You can come over anytime you can get out of there. And I'll come over any time you want me to."

"I know."

"Even when he's drunk."

"I know."

"Don't be afraid to just call me up and tell me to come over there."

"Thanks."

There was a loud sound as the front door flew open and crashed into the wall. Karkat's father came stumbling in, drunk like he usual was.

"C'mon. Let's go, ya little shit."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, to give credit where credit is due, the cover image is actually a background made by a really good friend of mine. They'll make you one by request. Their tumblr is .com

You can also follow my tumblr and "encourage" me to get working on the next chapter. That one's .com

I waited to type this one out because I didn't want to get lazy on the court scene, but I did anyways. Sorry.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **You guys know I spoil you, right?

* * *

It was two weeks until anyone heard from Karkat. Two agonizing weeks where everyone continually worried and feared for his safety. No one knew if he was even alive. They couldn't check up on him; his dad packed up all their stuff and moved without anyone knowing, and he didn't let Karkat breathe a word of it to anyone.

In those two weeks, a few things happen. Everyone became a little more dependent on Sollux for news about Karkat. When he didn't have any, they were all clearly disappointed.

Gamzee got out of jail. His father wired him enough money from whatever remote location he was hiding out at to not only bail Gamzee out, but to also pay for an fines he may have accumulated, which there was quite a few of.

After the initial incident with Karkat's dad, Sollux decided he should get a gun. He spread the word a bit, a few strings were pulled, and he ended up going to buy his gun and get his license to own one with the two people with the most gun experience that anyone in their group of friends knows about. Coincidentally, one of them was the nurse from the hospital. She and her brother, who was just a little older than she was, took him to the best local store and helped him pick out one that would suit his needs perfectly.

Other than that, Sollux spent most of his time waiting around some sort of communication. He checked all of the social networking sites that he knew Karkat had an account on to see if there was any kind of update or sign that he'd been on; there never was. No calls. No texts. No messages on skype or any email. Sollux spent his nights pacing, to the point where he swore he should have made ruts in the floor. He'd fret. He'd try to contact his friend in anyway possible, hoping for a reply. He got to a point where he almost tried to set up a bunch of lights outside and use Morse code.

When Karkat called, it was late evening. The last sliver of sunlight was just peeking up over the treetops. Dark clouds loomed overhead; there was no doubt this was set to be a rainy night. Sollux sat at his kitchen table, his various devices sprawled out in front of him. He had a spoonful of peanut butter in his mouth. That was the only thing he had eaten all day, he was stressed and it made him have little to no appetite.

Sollux's phone rang, and he nearly lunged out of his chair to see who was calling him. When he saw the familiar number, he couldn't answer it fast enough.

"Karkat?"

"Hi."

"Are you okay?"

"At this exact moment, kind of. I don't know how much longer it'll be that way, though." There was a moment of silence after that, and Sollux could here a constant thump from the other end. Each thump was followed by a string of obscenities, all directed at Karkat.

"Where are you?"

"Down the street from Denny's. Remember, the one we all used to go to every Saturday when we had just gotten our licenses? You'll recognize the truck and the yard littered with empty beer bottles and cigarette packs."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?" Sollux got up and rushed out to his car, then had a second thought and went in and got his gun.

"You don't have to do that."

"Karkat, I told you I'm going to help you no matter what, alright?"

"I'm not promising you'll like what you see when you get here."

"Maybe someone can make it better or get there before I do. Have you talked to anyone else?"

"I just got off the phone with Gamzee."

"Good, he's closer."

"... Sollux?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't hang up, okay?"

"I wasn't planning on it." Sollux cringed as the banging got louder and there was a sharp crack of wood splitting.

"I can't stay like this anymore." Karkat's voice wavered and cracked a little. Sollux could practically see the tears filling the other boy's eyes.

"Yes you can, kk. You're brave, you can handle this. I'll be there in less than five minutes."

"It'll be too late. Either he'll have gotten in or I will have ended it on my own."

"What?"

"I'm going to kill myself, Sollux. I'm tired of hurting all the time. How I have to look to everyone for help because I can't defend myself. I'm pathetic, but like hell I'll let him have the pleasure of taking my life."

"Karkat!"

"What? It's true!"

"Remember back when we were in junior high? We were like thirteen, and someone found out and spread news around that I didn't just like girls. Remember that?"

"... Yeah, I remember. Why?"

"Then all that bullying started, and it seemed to get worse by the day. I used to get jumped in the locker room and notes telling me how I'm going to burn, that being gay is a sin. Do you remember this?"

"Yeah."

"And it carried out into high school, and I was so sick of it I was going to kill myself. You were the last one I talked to that day. I cleaned out my locker and had everything in order. It wouldn't have been hard, you know that."

"And?"

"You talked me out of it. Then you gave them hell for it."

"What's the point of all this?"

"The point is that you're the reason I stuck around in this shitty place. I know it seems dumb, but that's how it is. You're my best friend, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life missing you. I want you to be brave and try to hold out just a little longer."

"I can try. But what if he gets in?"

"If he hurts you one more time he won't get out of that alive, I guarantee it."

"Okay..."

"Just stay on the line with me. I'm almost there."

"I wi-"

Karkat didn't finish his sentence. There was a crack and a series of loud crashing sounds, then the phone went dead. Sollux stared at his phone for a moment before hanging up, changing lanes, and going faster than he ever would have dared to.

* * *

**A/N: **... but, I probably also break your hearts. 3


	10. Chapter 10

Sollux didn't stop the whole rest of the way to Karkat's house.

When he got there, he saw that Gamzee had indeed gotten there before him and was currently trying to kick in the front door. Sollux ran up and watched helplessly as the door continued to split apart. He could hear the yelling of the man inside, the tell tale slur and string of curses solidifying in Sollux's mind that he was inexplicably intoxicated.

The man's yelling wasn't the only thing he could hear. He could also hear a lot of noise coming from inside the house. The kind that indicated there was a fight. A struggle. Sollux looked around the exterior of the house. He was about to pick up a reasonably sized rock and get in through a window when Gamzee finally broke down the door.

They both rushed in to see Karkat and his father having one of the most horrible fights they've ever seen. It was pretty obvious that Karkat's dad had the advantage over him, being larger in both height and build. Karkat knew this, but that didn't stop him from fighting back. Each punch he took, each knee and kick, every hit that landed on him didn't stop him. There was enough blood around his nose and mouth that it wasn't easy to tell where it was coming from. It was plainly visible be was injured; he always had the majority of his weight on his left side and it was clear, even through his shirt, that his shoulder was dislocated.

Sollux stood dumbfounded about five feet away as Karkat stood up again after taking a boot to the chest. The boy coughed a little before spitting some blood on the carpet and wiping his mouth. He gave what can only be described as a disturbing smile before lunging at his father. His fist connected audibly with the man's jaw, and the man let out a pained groan.

Karkat got in a few more good shots to the man's face before the two separated. Karkat stood there, panting heavily as he watched the man rub his face. The man snarled and charged him, hurling the pair into a bout of flying fists and swinging kicks. They were rolling around, struggling to be the one with the leverage and the upper hand.

Karkat's dad ended up getting the advantage again. He furiously smashed his knuckles against the boy's face, relentlessly trying to bash his face in. The man got up and began his tirade of kicks, having landed two to his son's spine before Sollux was able to draw his gun.

"I will fucking shoot you right now if you don't back away from him." He said as he cocked it and aimed for the man's head.

"You won't, I know that for a fact. Your parents raised you differently." He said with a smug grin as he lifted his foot, positioning it over Karkat's chest.

"People can surprise you in ways you never thought possible."

"I don't think you have the balls to shoot me, fucking pansy." He moved his foot towards Karkat's head, keeping it on top of the boy's throat.

"This is you're last warning."

The man began to press his foot down.

Sollux reacted as fast as he could. He didn't like the thought of having to shoot someone, and because of that he shut his eyes as he pulled the trigger. He missed where he was aiming for, but he didn't miss completely. The bullet instead lodged itself in the man's bicep. When he opened his eyes again, the man was almost upon him, his face flushed in pain and rage. Sollux had forgotten that the man was drunk and had the pain tolerance of a bear.

That's exactly what he looked like as he grabbed Sollux by the front of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall.

"That was a lucky shot, you little fucker. Too bad you won't have time to do it again." He spat as he glared at Sollux.

Sollux didn't respond. He would have responded, would have shot the man again if he wasn't shaking. He almost voluntarily took someone's life, even it was someone as horrid and vile as Karkat's father. Flashbacks from the last time he and Aradia saw each other started flooding his mind. His hands started shaking and he dropped the gun, causing the smug grin to return to the man's face.

Sollux started to become lucid again when the brutal uppercuts started making their way to his gut. The man lowered him a little and started to deliver blows to Sollux's face, the last of which felt like something burst in his cheek and made him cry out in pain.

Then he was on the floor. It took him a minute to realize that Gamzee had tackled Karkat's father away from him. He watched Gamzee beat down Karkat's father easier than the man had beaten Karkat. Soon he crawled over and picked his gun up off the floor, He cocked it again, then held it with both hands to try to keep the gun steady as he aimed. He pulled the trigger.


	11. Chapter 11

Sollux didn't move from his spot on the floor. His eyes darted around the room, looking everywhere. Everyone was still, no one was moving. No one. No one except him. He was shaking. The gun fell from his hands once again, the clatter it made was the only thing that broke the silence.

His vision started to blur; warm tears started to roll down his cheeks. He had to swallow down the bile that was rising to the back of his throat. He felt disgusted with himself. No matter how necessary his actions were, he still felt terrible. His flashbacks mixed with replays of what just happened to create something much, _much _worse. The last thing that happened in reality that he remembered was Gamzee rushing over and checking on Karkat.

Gamzee was on top of Sollux when he snapped back, yelling things at him that he obviously wasn't hearing. He had Sollux's wrists grasped tightly in his hands. Even through his blurry vision he could tell that Gamzee had a dead-serious look on his face. He didn't even know what was going on. All Sollux knew was that he had probably just had a panic attack as a result of shooting and killing Karkat's father. It took him a moment before he realized what was actually happening.

He had picked up the gun again.

He almost killed himself in the midst of his panic attack.

He immediately let go of the weapon and Gamzee snatched it up and moved it away from him before getting off of him.

"Sollux, man, what the fuck was that all about?" Gamzee asked as he offered Sollux his hand to help him up, which he hesitantly took.

"I have a lot of emotional trauma, let's leave it at that."

"You going okay, motherfucker?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Is Karkat okay?"

"When I went over and checked on him he was all motherfucking awake and everything."

"He still needs to go see a doctor, and we should probably call the cops."

Sollux took his phone out and called the cops. He basically did all of the same things the last time that they had to get Karkat to a hospital. He wasn't as nervous this time, though. They had Karkat leaned up against a wall and he was talking to them like nothing was wrong. The boy kept yelling at him when he'd try to wipe some of the blood off his face.

"Sollux, if I want the blood off I'll do it myself!"

"KK, I don't even trust you to sit up on your own right now."

"That doesn't mean you have to baby me and clean me up. What if I want the blood to stay?"

"Do you want it to stay?"

"Kind of. Just keep it there for a while to prove how tough I am. Maybe they'll se me as some kind of warrior."

"A warrior?"

"Yeah. Maybe a knight."

"What are you going to be the knight of? Blood?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Are you sure you didn't get a few screws knocked loose? Or more so than they already were?" Sollux asked with a small chuckle before he dabbed under his friend's nose.

"No, I'm fine! Stop trying to clean me up! I'm going to be the knight of blood and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" Karkat shouts at him through one of the widest smiles Sollux has ever seen on him.

As a response, Sollux wipes all over the boy's face while he laughs at him.

The cops showed up not too long after this. They talked to all three of the boys that were sitting on the floor. They seemed doubtful, but by the end of their questioning they seemed to believe what they were saying. They deemed Karkat's father dead to a fatal shot to the chest, then they proceeded to make sure that the gun was registered. They decided that everything checked out, then went and taped off the property.

The paramedics came next. They put Karkat's father in a body bag and loaded him up in the back. They asked Karkat about every hit he had sustained, and they made sure to stabilize his spine before putting him on the stretcher. Sollux and Gamzee got to ride with him to the hospital after the paramedics hesitantly adhered to Karkat's multiple requests.

On the way there, Sollux did what seemed to be his sacred duty by now, he sent a text to everyone telling them what had happened.

When they got there, some of their friends had already gotten there. They even got to get in a quick hello to Karkat before the nurses took him off to get some tests run.


	12. Chapter 12

Today was special.

Everyone was gathered at Sollux's house, waiting for him to return with Karkat.

Sollux had had to take Karkat to physical therapy. It had been a month and a half since his fight with his father, but Karkat needed to go to physical therapy for his shoulder and the severe bruising on his spine. Every time Sollux took him to an appointment, Karkat would point out that he felt fine, that he didn't need to go, but Sollux would always make him.

Sollux made sure that he and Karkat left early today. He also made sure to take the long way home to give their friends a little more time to do what they were.

Karkat waited for Sollux by the front door. They had just gotten back from his appointment and the nurses reminded him- again- that he shouldn't try to walk without his crutches, because they don't want him putting too much strain on his back. Sollux was pulling his car into the garage. Everything Sollux did today seemed so purposefully slow, it was starting to bother him. Even when Sollux made it up to the door, it seemed like it took a whole five minutes to get his key to the house and open the door.

Sollux was trying so hard not to smile while he was opening the door. He knew he had been irritating Karkat, but it was all for good cause. When he opened the door, he bolted in before the other and disappeared into the kitchen. Everything was ready, now all that needed to happen was Karkat coming into the room.

Karkat stared after Sollux as he ran into the house. What the hell was that all about? He shrugged and made his way inside. He went into the kitchen, and nearly fell backwards when he flipped on the lights and everyone jumped out at him.

"Happy birthday, Karkat!" Everyone shouted from their various locations throughout the room.

A wide smile spread across Karkat's lips, one that was larger than Sollux's when he came up and gave him a hug.

"Sollux, did you organize all this? I don't even bother acknowledging my own birthday. Why did you throw me a party?"

"KK, we need to start doing some celebrating, don't you think?"

"You didn't have to do this, though. You could have just ordered a pizza or something."

"Yeah, but this is special. I figured everyone needed to be here."

Karkat chuckled softly and shook his head. He never really could get over the fact that his friends were really the best thing he ever could have asked for, but he would never really admit to that. He scrubbed his eyes and looked around the room.

"Thanks, guys. Thank you so much. I never really even thought I'd make it to eighteen. Even if I'm all beat up and broken, I'm still here. I probably wouldn't be if it weren't for all of you. And now... now, I have a life to look forward to. I used to dread every day that I woke up to, and hope that I'd die in the night when I went to sleep. Honestly, you guys kept me going. And you do so many great things for me. I'll probably never be able to repay you, and I can't possibly thank you all enough."

"Karkat..." Kanaya started to say before trailing off.

"What? It's true."

"Karkat, we've always been here for you. We care about you, and we hate that you had to go through all that. But it's all over, okay? I'm not saying that we should all just forget that it happened, but we don't need to worry about it all the time now. It's all okay. And you made it to adulthood. You know what we do now? We all relax and have some fun and get some of this cake. Birthday boy gets the first piece." Sollux told him, smiling as he wrapped an arm around Karkat's shoulders and escorted him over to the counter where the cake was.

* * *

**A/N: **Oh hey look, a happy ending. c:

Thanks for reading. Especially since it's my first fanfiction and I figured I was just going to slide under the radar.

I'll be writing more stories, though! So if you like this, stay tuned for more I guess.


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